I have spent almost six full weeks in Ghana with a group of unforgettable people. This is the first time I have traveled outside of the United States and it has been nothing but one new adventure after another. I have had an absolute blast, but I am so excited to step foot back in America and see the familiar faces of my family and friends. One thing I am uncertain about though is how I am going to explain this journey to those who have not been with me.

I had many friends travel abroad to various European countries this summer and it sounds like they’ve had nothing but fun. Of course, I’ve had an incredible amount of fun here, but I know that telling my experience will be nothing like them telling theirs – and that’s okay.

It’s not going to be easy explaining to family members and friends what I’ve experienced. They’ve seen the nice house I’m living in, the beautiful places I’ve been lucky enough to visit, and some of the amazing things I’ve been able to participate in. What they haven’t seen, though, is the adjustments we’ve had to make as a group and as individuals. We had to adjust to the people, the language, the living conditions, the food, the pollution (air, water, and land), the chaos, the poverty, and the overall extreme difference from America. It hasn’t been easy to see some of the things we have seen, and I don’t think it will be any easier to explain them to others. There have been so many high points during this trip and I have had so much fun learning about this country, but several low points accompany the highs. Adjusting to a foreign country is hard, and it’s even harder when you’re only given six weeks.

Despite the struggles, this experience has been truly amazing. It has been eye opening, scary, exhilarating, and even downright hard. I am so glad that I chose to come to Ghana and I am so lucky to have come with the group I did. You’d be amazed by the connections that 18 incredibly different people can make living under one roof in a foreign environment for six weeks. I know it will be no easy task telling my story of Ghana, but after what I have seen and experienced here, I am ready to take on that task and share away.